I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to carriers and, more particularly, to a carrier for transporting and storing cylindrical cans.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Many states have enacted returnable bottle and can laws. In these states, the retailer of beverages sold in cans and bottles is required to obtain a deposit from the retail customer. This deposit is subsequently returned by the retailer to the customer when the empty bottle or can is returned to the store. Among other things, these laws are designated to minimize the highway litter and encourage resource conservation through recycling.
The return of bottles by the customer to the store has not represented much of a problem. Such bottles are typically sold in six or eight pack carriers when they are purchased from the store and these carriers serve as a convenient means for returning the empties to the store after consumption.
The return of empty cans by the consumer to the store, however, has presented a much greater problem. Such cans typically sold in six or eight packs in which the cans are held together by a flimsy plastic carrier which encircles the tops of the cans. Such plastic carriers are usually discarded after the beverage is consumed since reinsertion of the can into the carrier is difficult to accomplish and may be impossible to accomplish due to deformation of the carrier.
Consequently, the empty cans are typically returned to the store in plastic trash bags or the like which are both bulky and cumbersome to handle. Furthermore, since the retail stores will normally only accept empty cans for the brands of beverage carried by the store, it is necessary to unload the empty beverage cans singularly from the trash bag in the store so that the storekeeper can inspect them. This is not only tedius and time consuming, but also unsanitary.